Sci-fi shooter game High on Life is launching this week, and this new Xbox Game Pass title is sure to be warmly received by fans of Rick and Morty. That’s because it’s the latest title from Squanch Games, the game developer owned by Rick and Morty’s Justin Roiland, which previously delivered Trover Saves the Universe and Accounting Plus.
Here at RadioTimes.com, we’ve received some (slightly) early access to High on Life, but not quite enough to make a full review with a star rating and all that. Due to the timings of the review code coming in, we’ve only been able to play the first couple of hours ahead of the game coming out. But still, we thought you’d like to hear our first impressions of the game, especially if you’re on the fence about buying it.
The first thing to say is that Rick and Morty fans will feel right at home here. From the off, the writing in High on Life hits that familiar comedic tone with note-perfect accuracy, with swear words and silly names in abundance. Roiland has also lent his famous vocal chords to a couple of key characters, as well – so by the time you’ve finished the tutorial, you may well feel like you’ve had both Morty and Rick in your ears (even though these similar voices are attributed to totally new characters here).
As an added bonus, the High on Life writers clearly had fun with the first-person-shooter trappings of the game, poking fun at gaming cliches at every turn. Take the time to listen to what those stationary NPCs are saying, for example, and you’ll often be rewarded with a laugh or two. It’s safe to say that Rick and Morty fans will find plenty to enjoy here. That almost goes without saying.
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Of course, the comedy factor is no surprise here, but how does the rest of the game fare? We’re impressed so far, with the gameplay reminding us somewhat of the brilliant sci-fi indie game Journey to the Savage Planet. From what we’ve seen, the combat mechanics are deeper than you might’ve expected, with each weapon having multiple uses.
The first gun you get, for example, can fire regular bullets as well as a gloopy shot that opens new pathways and sends enemies flying. And the first melee weapon you get works as a grapple as well as a knife. Even in the first couple of hours, the game has tasked us with using multiple abilities to traverse through areas and overcome combat scenarios.
The twist is that these weapons have a lot of personality. Literally. Your guns and your knife can talk (with the likes of JB Smoove providing their voices), and boy do they have a lot to say. The gag-rate is off the charts with these guys, to such a degree that some players might find it a little bit grating. We did spot an option in the menu to reduce the amount of chat, though. This writer, for what it’s worth, hasn’t been tempted to engage that option just yet. It’s fun hearing what your weaponry has to say, for a change!
The story seems fairly simple from what we’ve seen so far, although simple is a relative term when you’re talking about a Roiland project. To use a parlance that Rick and Morty fans will understand, this feels like more of a ‘classic adventure’ as opposed to a ‘canon-heavy’ episode, with the balance being just right between big ideas and a fun, understandable plot.
There’s a whole universe of alien nonsense going on, of course, but your role in it seems fairly uncomplicated – you’re a human that gets pulled into an interstellar conflict, pitted against an alien race that wants to smoke humans as a drug (or something along those lines). You pick up some bounty-hunting gear early on, and you’re quickly sent off to take out alien targets that will help you progress on the journey to save mankind. Like we said, simple!
We also want to give a special shoutout to the audiovisual experience. Each place we’ve visited so far has been positively rippling with colour and character, and the musical score has been really atmospheric as well. Again, you come for the jokes, but you stay for the richness of the world. And so, judging by our first big play-session of High on Life, we’ve got a good feeling about this one. We’ll be sure to update this page with a score once we’ve played more.
High on Life launches 13th December for PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S via Xbox Game Pass.
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